MANILA – A Korean Herald report said on Wednesday that the Philippines is the second top destinations of criminals fleeing South Korea.

The Philippines with 283 fugitives preferring to flee to the country only came second to China, the most favored destination for fugitives with 707.

Japan came third and Hongkong, fourth, with 223 and 165, respectively.

A total of 1,1390 fraud suspects, followed by 247 people accused of embezzlement, 149 of drug-related crimes and 86 of theft, were among the crimes cited in the report.

The report was based on a survey released by Rep. Lee Sang-min of the ruling Saenuri Party saying that more than half of criminal suspects who have fled South Korea to escape punishment have not yet been rounded up.

The results were released based on a data submitted by the justice ministry to the National Assembly for annual auditing.

“A total of 3,890 offenders absconded overseas after committing crimes on South Korean soil in the past five years. Of that total, 2,175, or 55.8 percent, are still on the run,” the data showed.

“We must continue pursuing criminal suspects who flee abroad to bring them to justice,” Lee said.